The Campaign of NGOs for

Defending "Freedom of Association"

Cairo, 2 June 2010

NGOs Announce Full Solidarity with CTUWS and Ask Egyptian

Government to Fulfill Its Commitments in Human Rights Council

The undersigned NGOs express their grave concern on the pressures that the
Center for Trade unions and Workers' Services CTUWS has faced by the Ministry
of Social Solidarity about one month ago. On Tuesday 20 April 2010, the
CTUWS was surprised by a visit by a committee from the Ministry of Social
Solidarity mandated to examine CTUWS papers and activities. The committee
came to the CTUWS without a prior notice, which made its visit look like a
sudden inspection
The Committee consisted of four government officers of different disciplines (an
administrative, an accountant, a legal researcher and the head of the Committee
who is called "Social Inspector"). The Committee was in charge of inspecting the
CTUWS papers according to a decision issued by the Minister of Social
Solidarity.
The Committee members refrained from mentioning the reasons for their
exceptional visit. The head of the Committee insisted on the Minister's "ultimate"
right to inspect any NGO or any association at any time without giving the reason.
Later, the reason behind the visit was revealed, a complaint had been filed to the
Central NGOS Department of the Ministry of Social Solidarity by Mr. Hussein
Megawer, President of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) against the
CTUWS. Further to the compliant, the department had sent a letter to the Social
Solidarity Administration of Helwan to investigate about it.
According to the letter, the complaint asks the ministry to put an end to the
"violations and infringements" that have been done by the CTUWS, which are
concerning the discussion of the Law of Trade Unions No, 35 for 1976 and its
contradictions with the international conventions. Such violations, as Hussein
Megawer referred, are a banned exercise of trade union activities according to
Article 11 of the NGOs law.
Worth to mention, Mr. Hussein Megawer had filed a complaint similar to the
recent one on 30 October 2008, about five months before the CTUWS had been
recognized by the Ministry of Social Solidarity.

Due to this, the undersigned NGOs announce their full solidarity with the
CTUWS, and ask the government:
 to stop such measures which contradict with a number of recommendations
that had been accepted by the Egyptian government within the process of
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the human rights records of all 192 UN
 Member States, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council. Among
these recommendations, providing protection to Human Rights defenders,
amending NGOs Law in order to facilitate the activities of civil society
organizations and extend their capacity in working freely.
 to work on issuing a law regulating the civil work in Egypt that complies with
international standards

The NGOs:
 Arab Program for Human Rights Activists
 Egyptian Association for Participation and Sustainable Development
 The Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement
 The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
 Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights
 The Arab Council for Supporting Just Judgment
 Arab Institute for Civil Society and Human Rights Support
 Egyptian Foundation for Supporting Family
 Egyptian Center for Human Rights
 Egyptian Center for Development and Human Rights
 Egyptian Foundation for Maintaining Childhood Conditions
 The Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights
 Arab Penal Reform Organization
 The Association for Human Rights Legal Aid
 Mom Association for Rights and Development
 The Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners
 Egyptians against Discrimination
 The New Woman Foundation
 Freedom of Thought and Expression Foundation
 Center for Egyptian Woman's Legal Assistance (CEWLA)
 Land Center for Human Rights
 The South Center for Human Rights
 Cairo Institute For Human Rights Studies
 Al Nadeem Center for Rehabilitation of the Victims of Violence
 Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence studies
 Hisham Mubarak Law Center
 Suitable Communication for Development Center (ACT)
 Woman Development Forum
 Development and Human Rights Dialogue Forum